


Let's All Live in a Lovely Cemetery

by snowharasho



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, M/M, ishimaru and some others will be undead creatures :p, slice of life with zombies and ghosts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:21:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22480099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowharasho/pseuds/snowharasho
Summary: By some unfortunate twist of fate, Naegi accidentally breaks a rather priceless artifact and finds himself working at a cemetery to pay off his debt. As he would soon find out, the creepy anthropologist in charge was the least of his worries.
Relationships: Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Naegi Makoto
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (Written by my sister :D)  
> This is the prologue to the rest of the story.

It was a fine morning. The sun was shining, birds were chirping and Naegi Makoto found himself before the old rusty gates leading to the land of the dead. Quite literally, Naegi was standing right in front of a graveyard.

The van that had dropped him off sped away before Naegi could even think of pleading with the driver to take him back. Steeling his resolve, Naegi gripped onto the handle of his suitcase tightly as he slowly stepped into the cemetery.

 _How did he end up in this situation?_ Naegi thought back to just the day before, when what was supposed to be a simple trip to the museum ended up in a disaster of catastrophic proportions. Okay, he might be exaggerating about the scale of this disaster but for Naegi, who was supposed to live his life as an ordinary person in a normal house, that accident would possibly change his life forever.

A vase. It all started with a simple vase.

Now, Naegi had a reputation for being unlucky, but this was no doubt the worst, most tragic event in his life so far. That beautiful ornate vase had caught his eye, and he had gone over to get a closer look, when he happened to trip over _nothing_ and of course, the gods were not smiling upon him that day as he crashed onto the glass case. The glass case had one job: to protect the precious artifact within, and it failed spectacularly at that job.

The case slammed onto the floor, crashing into a million tiny pieces and the vase smashing along with it. Before Naegi could even realise what had happened, the museum’s security had rushed in, gasped in horror and promptly brought him to one of the curators.

Naegi was absolutely apologetic, but his dread only grew as the (creepy-looking) curator explained (in a creepy voice) that the vase was a most priceless discovery from so-and-so civilisation, and how could Naegi ever hope to pay for the damages to human history that he had caused?

The curator offered him a solution, although it was not much of a choice since there was no way in his current life nor the next that Naegi would be able to compensate for what he had accidentally done. Anyway, the curator had been looking for someone to look after a rather old cemetery - _another historic monument, as he had called it_ \- and if Naegi would be so kind as to take him up on this full-time job proposal, he would consider lightening Naegi’s debt.

And that was how a trip to the museum ended up in Naegi getting a new job as a gravekeeper.

Naegi trudged through the stone brick path through the center of the cemetery. Neat rows of gravestones flanked his sides, and even though it was in broad daylight, Naegi still felt a cold shiver down his spine.

That didn’t make any sense! He was supposed to feel warm, not _cold_!

Pulling his hoodie closer, Naegi dragged his suitcase over the bumpy road. He let out a sigh. Was he really supposed to live here too? The cemetery was not _that_ far away from civilisation, but he did not fancy the thought of sleeping with the dead.

Normally, Naegi would try to remain optimistic, but even he did not know how he should cheer up in this bleak situation. When he had explained his situation with his now-former roommate, Hinata had only given him a look of disbelief followed by pity and a “I don’t know what to say…”

Moping about like this really wasn’t like him all! Naegi slapped his cheeks as he quickened his pace - there was a small house, or more like a shed, at the end of the cemetery where Naegi was told he would be residing during his shift.

On the bright side, Hinata had promised to visit him when he had free time, which made Naegi smile slightly at the thought that his roommate probably missed him too. Plus, now that he thought about it, the cemetery was actually rather well kept and Naegi had seen some beautiful birds flying around that he would never have seen if he were cooped up in the city.

Taking a bit longer than he probably should have, Naegi stood before the door to his new home. He took a deep breath, gulped, and knocked on the door.

The door clicked open and the curator from the museum was waiting for him. Just seeing him made Naegi nervous, but who wouldn’t feel that way looking at the tall, lanky man with sly eyes and a suspicious-looking mask covering his mouth?

“Ah, Naegi-kun, I am glad that you could make it.” The curator spoke calmly, waving his hands in the air as he welcomed Naegi in.

“Aha, yes. Nice to meet you, um…” Naegi cautiously extended a hand out, still standing awkwardly at the door.

“You may call me Shinguuji.” The curator replied, reaching out his gloved hand to return the handshake. That was probably the most rigid handshake Naegi had ever experienced.

“Feel free to enter. This will be your new home, after all.” Shinguuji gestured to the small living quarters. Naegi nodded and took off his shoes before stepping into the place.

Again, Naegi was pleasantly surprised at how clean the space looked. Perhaps a little too clean? The living room was almost bare, with just a small table and chair, and a… piano? _No TV, but a piano?_ Naegi really had a lot to adjust to…

While giving a brief tour of the tiny house, Shinguuji also went into more detail about their special arrangement. Naegi half-heartedly took in what was being said, something about how his job was to look after the grounds at night, and keep out graverobbers?! Was he really ready for this?

No, no he was not. But he had no choice, by a cruel twist of fate Naegi had been thrust into a most _unfair_ situation. Shinguuji was ‘kind’ enough to let him return to school in the mornings, as his job would technically start at night, but didn’t that mean he would get no rest during school days? Could he really survive, or would he end up laying 10 feet under with his new undead neighbours?

Shaking the bad thoughts out of his mind, Naegi turned his attention back to Shinguuji, who had passed him the keys to the house. The unreality of the situation had begun to set in, for real this time, as Naegi nodded along to whatever he was telling him about.

All because of that stupid vase!

“In addition, our residents might require some special care and treatment… Naegi-kun, are you listening?”

 _Crap_. The curator had caught him lost in thought, gazing at him curiously. Naegi shook his head and sat up right.

“Yes!” Naegi impulsively blurted out.

Shinguuji raised an eyebrow as he continued talking. “Well, I have faith that you will be able to figure it out. Our residents are mostly harmless.”

_?_

Naegi bit his lip as he forced a smile. “R-residents…?” Naegi murmured hesitantly. He couldn’t possibly mean…

Shinguuji said nothing, but Naegi had the feeling he was smiling under that weird mask of his. That definitely _did not_ alleviate Naegi’s concerns.

_WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!_

“Not to worry, Naegi-kun. I am sure someone like you will do just fine. If not, well…”

_WELL… WHAT?!_

“Oh, and as for how long you are required to work here,” Shinguuji skipped over the important bit that caused Naegi to almost bang his head onto the desk. “The Kamukurian Vase that you destroyed was truly one of a kind. A relic of a bygone era. Ah, do the fragility of such artifacts not also echo the human soul!?

Naegi had no idea what he was talking about, but solemnly nodded along to the reminder that yes, he broke this super old vase and now he shall pay.

“Ah, my apologies for getting rather… excited. Returning to the matter at hand, how does a period of 6 months sound?”

Naegi’s dumbstruck expression said it all. “6 months?!”

“Of course, I should not need to remind you that 6 months would hardly be worth covering the damages…”

“I-I accept…” Naegi whimpered defeatedly.

“Fantastic.” Shinguuji clasped his hands together triumphantly. “I am sure you will take care of this place well, hmm?”

“Y-yes sir…”

Shinguuji remained unfazed by Naegi’s deflated attitude. “If anything requires my concern, feel free to contact me. Oh, but I will be rather busy during this period, as I have to assist with the restoration of that vase.”

 _Okay, we get it already_ , Naegi nodded for the last time as Shinguuji left a slip of paper with his contact details on the desk, and stood up to excuse himself.

After saying his obligatory goodbye, Naegi collapsed onto the desk. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Birds were still chirping outside, reminding him that his day was far from over.

And his nightmare would only continue from here.

Sighing, Naegi plopped his suitcase onto the floor and began to unpack his stuff. He brought along mostly clothes and his daily essentials like Shinguuji had instructed him the day before, as well as his favourite blanket that he could not sleep without. At least that helped to make it feel more like home.

Suddenly, Naegi heard a knock on the door and jolted upright. Did Shinguuji forget something? Not wanting to make his boss mad, Naegi slowly walked over and opened the door.

It was not Shinguuji.

A high-pitched scream echoed throughout the house.

**_“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”_ **


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naegi meets the strange residents of the cemetery and they hold a welcome party for their new caretaker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They also play... Mario Party! Woo!

Naegi slowly opened his eyes and was met with the warm light of the ceiling lamp. He blinked once, then twice, and realised he was laying on the bed that had been provided for him.

Right. How did he end up here anyway? His head still felt fuzzy and he could feel a small bump on his temple. Probably as a result from crashing onto the floor…

Rubbing said bump, Naegi nervously looked around. _Someone_ had to have carried him here, as he recalled collapsing right at the front door when he saw the… the…

He shook his head. The nerves must have gotten to him. There was no way ghosts actually exist!

That person waiting for him at the door with pale, almost translucent skin and hair covering their face must have been one of those ‘residents’ Shinguuji had mentioned, and Naegi must have mistaken them for someone from the other side. It was just an innocent mistake, Naegi tried to reason, but who could blame him? He was in a cemetery, of course he might think of… gho… ghosts…!

Naegi’s eyes locked with another pair of bright, purple eyes.

His throat immediately dried up as he recognised the figure of a girl, who bore an unmistakable resemblance to the person he’d met at the doorway.

There was… no way she was actually a ghost, right?

The girl’s eyes widened at Naegi’s sudden eye contact before smiling gently and elegantly walked over. Nah, there was no way such a normal-looking person was a-

She passed through the bedside desk and floated up to get a better look at Naegi’s pale face.

Passed through… _She passed through?!_

Naegi was so shocked that he could not even scream. He was only able to open and close his mouth as his heart beat faster and faster.

The girl let out a soft, melodic laugh. She covered her mouth with her hand in an attempt to stifle her laughter.

_Huh…?_

No matter what, it sounded like any normal laugh. Nonetheless, Naegi slowly felt himself calming down.

The girl finally spoke normally. “Sorry, sorry. You just look like you’ve seen a ghost!” And before Naegi could say anything, she burst out laughing again and continued, “Sorry again! I’ve always wanted to say that! Hahaha!”

Naegi felt exhausted. He gave the ghost(?) a wry smile as he mustered up the will to speak. “So, you’re really…?”

It was a questioning tone. The girl smiled and nodded. “Yup. I’m a ghost! Oh, but don’t worry, I won’t possess you or anything.”

Somehow, despite the ridiculousness of this situation, Naegi was beginning to accept it as the truth. He felt like he was beginning to put the dots together.

Naegi put on his cool face and yelled, “You must be the resident that Shinguuji-san mentioned!”

The girl looked visibly impressed and clapped. “Wow! You got it!” She floated over and gave Naegi a handshake, except her hands passed through his and gave him a cold tingle every time they passed through. “My name is Akamatsu Kaede! Nice to meet you! And uh, sorry for scaring you earlier.”

Now that the ghost, Akamatsu, was closer, he could tell that some parts of her body looked transparent from certain angles.

“Oh, um, it’s okay.” Naegi replied. So _she did_ spook him earlier! “Oh, and I’m Naegi! Naegi Makoto.”

To be honest, now that Naegi had a better look at Akamatsu and managed to hold a small conversation with her, he did not find himself feeling as afraid. Her voice also had a soothing quality to it that made him feel at ease. Even though she may be a ghost, she did not feel like one of the malicious types you would usually find in horror movies.

Naegi let out a relieved sigh that he had unconsciously been holding.

“So, um, Akamatsu-san? Were you the one who carried me here?”

Akamatsu tilted her head to the side. “Hmm? Of course not. You already know I can’t touch you.”

“Eh? Then, wait, that means…”

Just then, there were three knocks on the bedroom door. Naegi instinctively froze again.

“Akamatsu-kun, is he awake?” The loud voice boomed from behind the door.

“Yup! Naegi-kun’s awake!”

The door clicked open and a pale-looking man marched into the room. He raised an arm to give a salute and grinned.

“Good evening and pleasure to meet you! Naegi-kun, was it?”

Unlike Akamatsu, who had a distinct lack of presence despite hovering so close to him, this man felt _real_. Naegi could make out stitches on his forehead and was then immediately drawn to his bright, red eyes and bushy eyebrows.

“A-ah, nice to meet you too.” Naegi finally stuttered out after realising the man was still staring at him with his arm raised perfectly still, probably waiting for a response.

“My name is Ishimaru Kiyotaka!” Without missing a beat, Ishimaru marched over and gave Naegi a firm, _tangible_ handshake.

It would feel completely normal, but Naegi could distinctly feel the coldness of the other man’s hand.

“Oh, by the way, Ishimaru-kun’s a zombie.” Akamatsu helpfully confirmed Naegi’s fears. Right, so everybody here was a hopefully friendly undead of some kind?

“It’s nice to meet you, Naegi-kun!” Ishimaru greeted. “Although, passing out on the first day of the job is not a very good look. Did you have enough sleep?”

...And he immediately got scolded.

Thankfully, the culprit who caused him to pass out from shock piped up. “Ah, about that, it was my fault! I tried to prank him and spooked him too hard, sorry Ishimaru-kun!” Akamatsu clasped her hands together and Ishimaru’s rather magnificent eyebrows creased into a frown.

“You shouldn’t be spooking our caretaker! That is not very respectful of you, Akamatsu-kun!”

“No, it’s okay! I’m fine!” Naegi interrupted in fear that their argument would escalate. He was also a bit embarrassed that he actually collapsed like that, so the quicker they moved on, the better.

Trying to gain a bit more control of the situation, Naegi decided to know more about his new… gravemates? “So, um, Ishimaru-kun? Were you the one who carried me here?”

“Yes! Akamatsu-kun called for me, and there you were, lying splat onto the floor!”

“O-oh.” Naegi tried to wipe the unsightly mental image of his splattered self off his mind and cracked a small smile. “Then, thank you!”

“Huh?” Ishimaru seemed taken aback. “Oh, it’s no problem.”

What a strangely confused reaction, but Naegi thought nothing more of it. Akamatsu floated to hover besides her zombie-fied friend.

After a few seconds of awkward silence where the two parties just stared at each other (Naegi could tell Akamatsu was feeling restless with the way her eyes were darting around the room), Naegi finally managed to ask the question that had been bugging him ever since, well, he saw the ghost.

“Anyway, um, how did you guys end up like that?”

Akamatsu put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. “You mean, how did we die? Or how did we become ghost and zombie respectively?”

“Uh,” Naegi thought the first question might be too sensitive, so he continued, “the second one?”

He was more curious about that anyway.

“Oh! Well, in my case… you know Shinguuji-kun, right?” Akamatsu paused, as Naegi nodded in response. “Well, he’s actually a really amazing anthropologist!”

“Anthro…” Naegi had heard of that before, and was vaguely aware of what that occupation entailed, but all he could think of were images of humanoid animals and creatures.

“Yeah! Well, he’s actually really into weird occult stuff too. Anyway, he knows all kinds of rituals and stuff to bring the dead back and that’s how I ended up like this.”

Huh? That sounded rather convenient. Naegi bit his lip as he thought about the implications. Wasn’t this kind of ‘power’ dangerous?

Besides, once you were dead, you were _dead_ , you know? Could Shinguuji really be able to revive the dead? How was that even possible?

Suddenly, Naegi was even more afraid of his boss than before.

“Na-e-gi-kun? You look a bit stunned.” Akamatsu’s question brought him back to reality.

“Huh? Oh, I was just, um… it’s hard to believe, that’s all!”

“It really is, huh?” Akamatsu looked wistfully at the ceiling. But in the next moment, the solemn feeling was gone and she snapped her attention back towards Naegi. “But! You’ll get used to us! Just don’t think about it too much.”

“Um, I’ll try.” Naegi answered with uncertainty. “Then, was Ishimaru-kun also…?”

“No, I was… well. It’s classified!” Ishimaru replied honestly.

They were definitely hiding something, but Naegi felt it was better not to pry too hard. He wasn’t sure if he could even process any of this weird information.

It was just… all too unbelievable. Come to think of it, Naegi was so shocked at his first meeting with Akamatsu he hadn’t tried _that_ yet.

He closed his eyes and pinched his cheek, as hard as he could. _Ow._

He opened his eyes, and Akamatsu’s face was mere inches away.

“WAAAAAHHH!!”

“Akamatsu-kun, what are you doing?!” Came Ishimaru’s horrified cry as Akamatsu found herself in stitches again.

“Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself! Naegi-kun, you’re really pure! Ahaha!”

 _She said she wouldn’t do that again…_ Naegi thought as he struggled to calm his beating heart. And what did she mean by ‘pure’?! Was that a compliment or was she making fun of him?

The sound of Ishimaru’s scolding and Akamatsu’s laughter somehow made Naegi think of lunchtime at school, when he would hang out with his friends and get in trouble with the teachers for doing something silly…

The two in front of him didn’t feel like they were dead. Their voices and expressions were so full of life, if it weren’t for the way light sometimes passed through Akamatsu and the prominent stitches on Ishimaru’s head, you couldn’t tell they were not human at all.

Eventually, Naegi opened his eyes again. Ishimaru was still berating Akamatsu for frightening Naegi (which he was sort of thankful for), while Akamatsu was just giggling sheepishly. It almost seemed like she was used to being scolded?

“Naegi-kun! You need to work on your, uh, nerves.” Ishimaru directed his attention onto him once again.

“Ahaha, guess I do.” Naegi answered. He supposed he would have to get used to it. Disappearing and then suddenly popping up are what ghosts are known for.

As for zombies… wait, weren’t they dangerous?

Having watched too many horror movies and played too many post-apocalyptic games, Naegi nervously asked, “Uh, Ishimaru-kun… Do you... infect people?”

A loud, audible gasp came from the zombie’s mouth as Ishimaru looked visibly insulted. “What do you mean, _infect_? If I were sick, I would wear a mask and stay in my room!”

“Huh? That’s… nice to hear?” Naegi scratched his head. His gut was telling him that Ishimaru wasn’t like those pandemic monsters one would find in those films and games.

Then, in a slightly quieter voice (as quiet as he could say it, which was still pretty loud), Ishimaru asked, “Do I look sick?”

“Eh? No! It’s just, you know… zombies are known to infect people and turn them into zombies too, right? So I was just wondering…”

Ishimaru just looked confused. Wait, did he not know about the stereotypical zombie?

“You know of other zombies, Naegi-kun?” Ishimaru just asked curiously.

Naegi had no idea how to answer. “No! It’s just, those zombies on TV, they’re like that…?” Even he was starting to doubt his own words.

“Oh, like in Resident Evil, or Left 4 Dead, right?” A voice asked.

“Yeah! Exactly…?” Naegi paused, and blinked.

Behind Ishimaru and Akamatsu was another girl, standing and observing him calmly.

_When did she get here?!_

“Mm. Those games were fun. Ishimaru-kun, we should play together some time. Of course, Akamatsu-san and Naegi-kun should join too.”

_And she just casually inserted herself into the conversation?!_

“Whoa, Nanami-san! You startled me!” Akamatsu jumped upon turning around. So the ghost got scared too…

“Did I? Um, sorry.”

“Nanami-kun! Is this not your first meeting with Naegi-kun? You should start with introducing yourself!” Ishimaru chided, and Nanami frowned as she tilted her head to the side.

“Technically, it’s my second meeting. I already saw him earlier.”

 _When??_ Naegi’s mind struggled to recall, but he did not remember seeing her at all?

“You did?” Akamatsu asked.

“Yeah, I saw him lying splat on the ground.”

…

“That doesn’t count!” Ishimaru huffed. “Wait, you saw him lying there and didn’t do anything?!”

“‘Cuz… You were coming to get him, and he looked so comfortable, it made me sleepy. So I went back to bed.”

From her responses, Naegi could already get a sense that this girl was as strange as the other two. What kind of person or zombie or ghost would abandon him like that and just go to sleep?

“Anyway! Please introduce yourself formally this time!” Ishimaru put his hands on his hips.

Despite his frustrated look, Nanami herself did not appear too bothered. She looked at Naegi and smiled. “My name is Nanami Chiaki, and um… I like games.”

_What a surprisingly normal and relatable hobby?_

“Oh, me too!” Naegi added.

Suddenly, Akamatsu gasped as if she had forgotten something. Everyone turned their attention to her.

“By the way, my hobby is playing the piano!” She declared, before grinning proudly.

Ishimaru nodded in affirmation. “Indeed, Akamatsu-kun’s music is simply wonderful!”

“Yeah, she can even play video game BGMs. She’s awesome.” Nanami nodded as well.

Naegi recalled the giant out-of-place piano in the living room. Now it’s presence made a bit more sense, though it still did not explain the lack of a tv.

“I would like to hear you play some time!” Naegi chirped up.

“Then I’ll let you pick a song or two later!” Akamatsu exclaimed, winking. “Actually, what are we waiting for? I’ll play something right now!”

As soon as she said that, Akamatsu whizzed out of the room. Ishimaru chased after her in shock.

“Wait! Akamatsu-kun! We still need to brief Naegi-kun about his duties!”

Right, Naegi was supposed to work here. But it seemed like Akamatsu had paid the zombie no mind, as he heard a thud followed by some notes on the piano, as well as more of Ishimaru’s now muffled shouting.

After looking back to make sure Nanami was also sleepily tagging along, Naegi made his way to the small living room, that looked even smaller now that it was crammed with four ‘people’ in addition to the huge piano.

Upon seeing Akamatsu’s fingers glide across the black and white keys, Naegi only had one thought on his mind:

_How was she able to touch the piano?_

But the ghost’s fingers were indeed pressing onto the keys, rather than passing through them like with other objects.

Ishimaru appeared to be rendered unable to speak, rather he was nodding his head and tapping his foot lightly to the music.

It was kind of cute.

Naegi also found himself entranced by the tune. It sounded familiar, like one of those pieces from Beethoven. Or was it Mozart? The music felt triumphant and joyful. Either way, despite not knowing too much about classical music Naegi could tell Akamatsu was incredibly skilled.

As the music intensified, Naegi felt his body itching to move with the beat, but he managed to restrain himself from doing an awkward jiggle and just swayed from side to side.

Eventually, Akamatsu’s playing came to an end, and Naegi was the first to start clapping. Ishimaru soon followed, while Nanami… woke up from her nap and after looking stunned for two seconds she imitated the other two and clapped as well.

“Thank you!” Akamatsu’s smile seemed to glow as she played a cheerful trill on the piano.

“It was amazing!” Naegi couldn’t help but exclaim. This was his first time hearing such an breathtaking performance live.

“Yes, it was!” Ishimaru happily agreed, before coughing to clear his throat. “A-anyway! Before you play anymore, we need to-“

“Hold a welcome party for our new housemate!” Akamatsu interrupted, playing another trill as if to emphasize her point.

“A-a what.” Ishimaru was dumbfounded once again.

“Mario Party.” Nanami spoke up suddenly while Ishimaru was struggling to come up with a retort. “Let’s all play together!”

“Yeah, that sounds fun! What do you think, Naegi-kun?” Akamatsu asked, smirking playfully.

After a brief pause, Naegi nodded and said, “That would be nice.”

“N-Naegi-kun!” Ishimaru uttered, almost pleadingly.

“B-but! Um, could you guys tell me what I’m supposed to do? As part of my job?” Naegi quickly continued, feeling a bit bad for the zombie.

Ishimaru’s eyes brightened up as he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, of course! We can talk over Mario Party!”

“I have it in my room. Let’s go.”

“Wait! Two boys shouldn’t go into…”

“It’ll be fine! Let’s go, Ishimaru-kun!”

“Don’t worry, my room has enough space.”

“T-that’s not… Waaah!”

As Ishimaru got dragged away by Nanami, Akamatsu slowed down to float alongside Naegi.

“Naegi-kun, what are you waiting for? Don’t just stand there!”

“Yeah, sorry.” Naegi couldn’t help but smile. “It’s just, you guys get along really well.”

“Ehehe, well, we live together. And we have something in common nobody else does.”

Ah, that was true. Naegi also realised he had not learnt what type of undead creature Nanami was, though he thought she resembled an animal more. Like a koala.

Koala...

Was she a koala? No, that was somehow even harder to imagine than her being some sort of ghost or zombie.

“But… I do wish Ishimaru-kun would want to hang out with us more often.” Akamatsu continued talking, staring at the figure of Ishimaru who had detached himself from Nanami and was now walking normally beside her.

Naegi was caught off guard by the comment. “Does he not spend time with you guys?”

“How do I put it? It feels like we’re forcing him to hang out with us?” From her tone Naegi could tell she seemed genuinely troubled.

Ishimaru… well, he did seem the most resistant to the whole ‘welcome party’ idea. Perhaps he was just an uptight sort of guy?

“I’m sure Ishimaru-kun enjoys it!” Naegi answered, determined.

“Ehe, I hope so!” Akamatsu replied, returning to her usual cheerful expression. “Actually, it’s his first time playing this game.”

“It is?”

“Yeah. He’s not really into video games…” She glanced at Naegi. “But I think he made an exception because you were here!”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Naegi asked, slightly flustered at the possible implications.

“Because you like video games too! And it’s your welcome party, so he had no choice.” She laughed, and Naegi felt his heart deflate a bit.

“That makes it sound like I forced him…”

“Haha, I was just joking.”

“What are you two whispering about?” A concerned Ishimaru asked, and Naegi jumped at the sudden interruption.

“N-nothing-“ Naegi stammered out, before realising he sounded totally suspicious.

“We were just discussing strategies! That’s all!” Akamatsu winked at him before flying over to join her friends.

“Strategies?” Ishimaru sounded a bit interested as Nanami fiddled with an appliance that made Naegi jump in excitement.

A tv, along with a plethora of game consoles and cartridges were strewn all over the floor of her room. It felt a bit hazardous to walk in.

“Nanami-kun, you need to keep your room clean! This is unacceptable.” Ishimaru scolded, while Nanami absentmindedly nodded. Naegi got the feeling she wasn’t paying much attention to him.

Making a frustrated noise, Ishimaru got to work gathering the unused consoles and cartridges into a neat pile at the corner of the room.

“It is a bit dangerous,” Akamatsu commented. “Naegi-kun, could you help Ishimaru-kun put them aside?”

“Of course!” Naegi crouched and assisted Ishimaru with his task.

“...I’ll help too…” Nanami spoke up, helping them put the cartridges into a box that was half-filled with other cartridges. Naegi was almost envious at the amount of games she had.

Eventually, the three of them managed to clear out enough space for them to sit. Nanami handed them a controller each while she selected Mario Party on the screen.

“Oh, Ishimaru-kun, you hold it like this,” Naegi said as he saw the other boy was holding the controller upside down.

“Oh!”

“By the way, how does Akamatsu-san play? Can you touch the controller too?”

“If I concentrate really hard, I can possess things! Some small buttons like these are nothing!”

Nanami swiftly clicked through the menus and landed on the multiplayer screen. Ishimaru’s mouth was half-open as he focused really intensely at the bright colours and noises coming from the game.

“Okaaay, let’s play!” Nanami said, slightly more energetically than usual as she helped everyone connect to the game. “I pick Mario.”

“Wait, shouldn’t Naegi-kun get to pick first?” Akamatsu interjected, and Nanami gave it some thought.

“Okay. Do you want to be Mario?”

“Um, I’ll pick Luigi!” Naegi replied, clicking on the green brother, for no reason other than green was his favourite colour.

...Why didn’t he pick Yoshi? Well, he already selected Luigi and didn’t really feel like changing.

“Then I’m still Mario. We’re brothers.” Nanami smiled, confirming her character.

“Ishimaru-kun, what about you?” Akamatsu asked. Ishimaru fumbled with the tiny buttons and randomly landed on Toad.

“What is going on?!”

“You’re just picking your character. Right now you picked the mushroom.”

“Oh, okay?”

Any doubts Naegi might have had about his zombie friend being a total, complete beginner to video games had just been expelled from his head.

“Don’t worry, if you have any more questions, we’ll help you.” Nanami affirmed. Ishimaru nodded hesitantly.

“Then I’ll be… Peach!” Akamatsu decided, clicking on the princess.

“Now we need to roll the dice. Press the A button when it’s your turn.” Nanami instructed.

“Where is the A button? When is my turn??” Ishimaru was even more confused than before as he started mashing all of the buttons.

“It’s, um, the one with an ‘A’ on it.”

“Ah! I see it!”

“You press it when Toad, um, your mushroom guy comes out…”

Naegi could not help but feel a bit amused by Ishimaru’s sheer concentration at pressing one button, and felt similarly proud of him when he managed to press the A button at the right time and roll the dice.

To his surprise, Ishimaru ended up being a fast learner, and he quickly picked up the function of each button. However, he still was not used to them and got rather confused at all the different mini games, and was especially slow at the ones that require good reflexes.

Naegi also realised that Ishimaru never tried to purposefully sabotage another player, which in turn made him feel bad because he had just caused him to lose some coins earlier. Oops.

Yet at the same time, he could see that Ishimaru was getting into it, and a competitive spirit seemed to have ignited within him during the minigames, as he got better and better at them.

That was when Naegi realised, it had been a while since he had the chance to fully relax and play games all night like he used to. Nowadays, he and his friends were all too busy with work or school that he had been touching his games less and less, and he found himself getting almost as surprised as Ishimaru by some of the new features they had added.

Naegi was having too much fun. Maybe this graveyard shift would not be so grave after all?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I did just put my favourite dead characters in one fic. I love them a lot... It's kind of fun putting characters from different games together and making them interact.
> 
> Also, Naegi is so fun to tease, isn't he?? 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! Thank you for reading! You can look forward to a certain someone in the next chapter... maybe. :P


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naegi and friends stayed up all night playing games. Ishimaru has a problem, and someone makes his first appearance...!

The alarm rang, and rang, and rang. But Naegi did not wake up.

Not because he was ignoring it, but because he stayed up all night and had too much fun playing games with his new friends that he had passed out in Nanami’s room, and his alarm clock, being stranded on the other side of the house, could not be heard.

Fortunately, someone did wake up. At precisely 7 in the morning Ishimaru’s eyes shot open and he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Then he looked beside him to see Naegi sprawled over the carpet, and looked to the other side to find Nanami and Akamatsu huddled together on the floor. 

… Did he just fall asleep in Nanami’s room?!

Ishimaru was horrified at the prospect of sleeping in a _girl’s_ room, and even worse, that Nanami and Akamatsu were somehow sleeping on the ground and not on the bed like they should be! Did he seriously lose track of time and fall asleep on the floor as well?

No matter, Ishimaru decided it would be good to wake them up and apologise to Nanami. He reached over to give Naegi a tap on the shoulder when he heard a rather alarming ‘crack’.

Hmm? Did it come from his shoulder?

Ishimaru’s pale face got even paler as he realised his body was aching, a lot more than it usually did. This was why he always emphasised the importance of having a good sleeping posture! 

“Uuu…” A small groan escaped his lips as he attempted to rub his shoulder, only for his elbow to disagree with him and send a sharp pain through his entire arm the moment he bent it. 

“Waaah!” Ishimaru yelped as he struggled to soothe his aching bones. Being a zombie had made him much more fragile, which was very inconvenient, which was why he had a very specific sleeping position he had to follow or else things like this would happen! 

He mentally cursed himself for being careless - having too much fun - last night. To his dismay, he noticed some movement from Naegi, and realised that his yelp of pain might have woken him up.

Oh, he did not want Naegi to see him in such a sorry state…!

Naegi woke up, of course, yawning as he slowly sat up. He looked over at Ishimaru with half-asleep eyes.

“Oh? Ishimaru-kun, good morning…” 

The new caretaker yawned again as he rubbed his eyes groggily. Ishimaru just stared at him, his problematic arm awkwardly hanging out. Eventually, Naegi noticed the outstretched limb and his eyes widened curiously.

“Hm? Ishimaru-kun, is something wrong?” 

“N-Naegi-kun. Um, how should I say this…” 

Naegi, sensing Ishimaru’s hesitation, quickly scooted over to take a closer look. “You can tell me anything! I’ll do my best!”

Ishimaru looked away, debating whether to tell him. He supposed Naegi would have to learn all the quirks of him being a zombie eventually, seeing as he was technically in charge of taking care of them… but it still filled Ishimaru with a deep sense of embarrassment. 

“I… I can’t move my right arm…” His normally strong voice trailed off at the end.

“E-eh?” Naegi was understandably dumbfounded. His expression quickly changed to one of concern. “Oh no! Does it hurt?”

“Uuu… y-yes. I slept… badly, it’s my fault…” 

The commotion reached Akamatsu’s ears as she slowly got up from the floor. 

“Morning!” She smiled and cheerfully greeted the boys, before noticing their worried looks. “Oh dear, Ishimaru-kun, is your arm okay?”

“Muuuu…” Ishimaru grumbled, even more ashamed now that more people had to see him in this useless state.

“Akamatsu-san! Ishimaru-kun can’t move his arm!” Naegi explained worriedly. He didn’t know whether it was safe to touch him, so he just hovered his hands around Ishimaru’s arm.

Akamatsu gasped, and floated over. “Oh dear, it’s really not moving...” 

“I-if I move it… it hurts…” Ishimaru mumbled weakly. 

“I-is there anything we can do to help?” Naegi asked. 

“Wait here! I’ll go get something!” With that, Akamatsu phased through the wall and out of the room. Right, she could do that.

Naegi turned his attention back to Ishimaru, who was biting his lip in an attempt to hold back the pain. 

“I-it’s okay, Ishimaru-kun! Hang in there! Do you need anything else? Water? Um, um…” 

Ishimaru slowly shook his head, but Naegi had already bolted out of the room to locate some water. Ishimaru really felt like a useless lump of flesh right now.

The commotion was enough to finally wake Nanami up, and she yawned and stretched her arms before opening her eyes.

“Huh? Where’s Bowser…”

Ishimaru grimaced, partially due to the pain. “Nanami-kun! Um, you’re awake.”

“Oh? Ishimaru-kun… huh, your hands are sticking out weirdly. Like a zombie.” Nanami commented bluntly, and Ishimaru raised his brows slightly. “Oh wait.”

“Yes, I am painfully aware that I am a zombie!”

Nanami seemed to sense the heightened anxiety in Ishimaru’s voice, and her brows furrowed in worry. “Hey, where did the others-“

“Ishimaru-kun, I got some water!”

“Ishimaru-kun, I brought the special oil!”

As if on cue, Naegi and Akamatsu burst through the door, Naegi carrying a mug of water and Akamatsu holding some vials of massage oil.

“Ishimaru-kun, drink up!” Naegi offered the mug up to Ishimaru’s mouth. Ishimaru stuck out his tongue and licked at the water pitifully. 

“Naegi-kun, try applying this to his shoulders and give him a good rub!” Akamatsu suggested, smiling and handing him the oils. 

“Ooh, yeah, it helps.” Nanami added, patting Ishimaru’s back in an attempt to comfort him. “It’s like a potion for back aches.”

“Really?” Naegi took the vials, and curiously opened a bottle and sniffed it. A strangely familiar scent wafted to his nose.

“Is this… sesame oil?”

“I dunno.” Akamatsu shrugged. “The doctor said the recipe’s top secret! Well, a normal guy probably won’t be able to recreate it easily anyway.”

Doctor? This was the first Naegi had heard of this doctor. Do ghosts and zombies fall sick too? Well, one look at Ishimaru told him that perhaps he should apply the oil on his shoulders and arm.

“Ishimaru-kun, do I just put it here?” Naegi positioned himself behind the zombie, who nodded awkwardly. “Um, do I lift up his shirt…?”

Nanami tilted her head. “The oil has to be applied onto the skin. I think.”

Naegi felt kind of stupid and nervously lifted Ishimaru’s shirt. He could feel Ishimaru tense up even more than he already was. Why was he getting so worked up about this? 

Naegi took a deep breath and poured some of the oil onto his hands, then rubbed it onto Ishimaru’s shoulders. It felt… cold, and for a second Naegi thought this must be what a corpse felt like. He shivered a little and tried not to think about it.

“Is this enough?” Naegi asked.

“I think so!” Akamatsu replied.

Naegi withdrew his hands and pulled Ishimaru’s blouse back down. Ishimaru seemed slightly more relaxed.

“Does it feel better?”

“Mm. It felt warm. But I still can’t move...”

“You should give him a massage, Naegi-kun!” Akamatsu smirked, and Ishimaru’s eyes widened. Was that fear in his eyes?

“N-no way! I’ll be fine after an hour or so!” Ishimaru protested. 

“Hmm, but that’s so long.” Nanami said. “That massage healed you a lot faster last time.”

“Yeah! Exactly! And this time, Naegi-kun won’t fall asleep half-way!” 

“Huh?” Naegi somehow felt the urge to glance in Nanami’s direction. Nanami slowly looked away.

“B-but!” Ishimaru mumbled, but Akamatsu shook her head and floated over to Naegi.

“C’mon Naegi-kun! Help Ishimaru-kun out with a massage!” 

“No, you don’t have to do it Naegi-kun!!” 

Now, Naegi was faced with a dilemma. Though he had no idea why Ishimaru was so opposed to getting a massage, especially if it would help accelerate his healing. Weren’t they supposed to feel good? He looked at Ishimaru’s poor state, his arm still hanging out weirdly. It must be taking a toll on his shoulders even now.

“I want to help Ishimaru-kun feel better now.” Naegi stated, with confidence. “Tell me if it hurts, okay?” 

“Uuu…” Ishimaru replied weakly, realising he had no choice in the matter. “O-okay…” If he were not so stiff right now, he would sag his shoulders just a little bit. 

Naegi gulped. Here I go, he thought, raising his hands. He wiggled his fingers in the air for good measure before pressing onto Ishimaru’s arm gently. Ishimaru yelped, and squeezed his eyes shut.

“D-does it hurt?”

Ishimaru shook his head, biting his lips.

Naegi squeezed again, a bit gentler this time. Ishimaru jerked at every press, and Naegi wondered if he was somehow really sensitive. 

An evil thought crossed Naegi’s mind, and he sneakily lightly poked the side of Ishimaru’s stomach.

“WAAAAAH!!” Ishimaru jolted up, teary eyed. “Naegi-kun, what was that?!”

“S-sorry! I-it was an accident!!”

“I… I’ll have you know!! I am very ticklish, so please be more careful!!!” Ishimaru cried, and Naegi felt really bad, but also he felt like he learnt some valuable information about his zombified friend.

“Could that be why you didn’t want a massage? Because it tickles?” 

“........Yes, now please carry on and stop asking questions. I am extremely embarrassed.” Ishimaru mumbled reluctantly.

Meanwhile, Akamatsu was struggling to contain her giggling while Nanami just stared at them. 

Naegi smiled, and decided he would try his best not to ‘accidentally’ poke his stomach. He tried, as carefully as he could, to massage Ishimaru’s arms, and could feel him gradually start to relax.

“N-nn, don’t you think- wahh! That’s- ahhh! Enough…?” Ishimaru gasped out, almost pleadingly.

“Can you move your arm now?” Naegi asked gently, and let go. Ishimaru slowly retracted his arm, stretched it out, and bent it again.

“Oh!! Yes!!” 

“Ehehe, I know what to do next time you get stuck!” Naegi exclaimed, kind of proud of himself.

“I… will make sure to avoid getting myself in those situations in the future!” Ishimaru replied.

“Anyway, it’s great that Ishimaru-kun can move again! Thanks for taking care of him, Naegi-kun!” Akamatsu praised. 

“No problem!” 

Just then, Naegi could hear the faint sounds of footsteps coming from the corridor outside. Wait, was someone else here? The footsteps gradually became louder, and came to a stop behind the room door.

_Knock. Knock._

The door clicked open, and an unfamiliar man slowly opened the door and gazed at the four of them. 

“Oh, pardon me. I’m sorry for being a little late today.” 

Just who was this man? His husky voice seemed eerily familiar, and Naegi couldn’t quite help but wonder if he were a ghost too. More importantly, as a fellow connoisseur of hoodies, Naegi’s eyes were instantly drawn to that stylish designer jacket, and the extremely fashionable modifications on the hem. 

Now, Naegi would never dream of cutting up such a… luxurious brand like this, but this man’s coat exudes pure flair! So! Cool! And look at that skull chain hanging from his waist!

_Wait, no, that wasn’t the point! Who was this man?!_

Akamatsu smiled fondly at the stranger and replied. “Oh, don’t worry! You know we can take care of ourselves.” Ishimaru’s eyebrow twitched slightly, recalling the earlier incident. Then, noticing Naegi’s confusion, Akamatsu continued. “Oh, Naegi-kun, this is Komaeda-kun, our other caretaker! Komaeda-kun, this is Naegi-kun!” 

“It’s a great honour to meet you, Naegi-kun!” Komaeda cheerily replied, and suddenly Naegi did not feel so wary of him anymore. So he was a caretaker just like him?

“N-nice to meet you too!” Naegi bowed slightly, before noticing Komaeda had stretched out his hand. For a handshake, perhaps? Naegi reached his hand out as well, but it seemed like Komaeda had the opposite idea and bowed his head, causing an awkward situation in which Naegi laid his hand upon the other man’s fluffy hair.

… Awkward.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Naegi exclaimed, immediately pulling his hand away and laughing sheepishly.

“No, no, I should be sorry!”

“Oh no. They’re both apologising.” Nanami said.

“Ahaha… so, um, how did you end up working here?” Naegi asked, curious.

“Oh! It’s nothing special. I just accidentally broke a very precious artifact during my school trip last summer.” Komaeda replied nonchalantly. Now, why was this sounding so familiar? 

“I-is that so? What a coincidence…” Naegi scratched his chin awkwardly. 

“Ehh? Naegi-kun, did you break something as well?!” Ishimaru interjected, surprised.

“Um…... yes.” 

Komaeda gasped softly, and frowned. “Oh dear, so Naegi-kun, you got cursed as well?”

“Huh? Wait, what curse?!”

Komaeda laughed again. Was this supposed to be funny? “It appears that by breaking that artifact, I was cursed by an ancient god.” 

“W-what kind of curse?” Naegi asked, his face pale as a sheet.

“A curse… that Komaeda-kun may never turn back into a frog, and only by true love’s kiss will he return to his original form… I think?” Nanami suggested.

“Um, no. Also you got the whole story wrong, it’s the prince who turns into a frog, not the frog turning into a prince!” Akamatsu replied.

“Oh, but frogs need love too.”

“Ahaha, I am not a prince. But no, my curse is simply to be very unlucky. Why, this morning, my alarm was out of battery and didn’t ring, and when I ran to catch the bus I almost got run over by a black car-“

“Komaeda-kun, you should know better than to run in traffic!” Ishimaru scolded, appalled.

“I was standing at the bus stop, though?”

Ishimaru put his hands over his mouth and gasped. “T-the car… rammed into the bus stop?!” 

Komaeda nodded as if that were a natural thing. Naegi only had one thing on his mind. 

_This guy was probably cursed._

“Oh, that reminds me! Naegi-kun, don’t you have school today?” Komaeda asked, changing the subject suddenly.

Wait, school?

“WHAT TIME IS IT?!” Naegi exclaimed, panicking. Crap, how could he forget! He had classes in the morning!

Nanami checked her clock in the corner. “10:30… a.m.” 

“I’M LAAAATE!!” Naegi yelped, and began scrambling for his belongings. “Ahhh, oh no, oh no, what do I do?!”

“N-Naegi-kun!! T-this is all my fault! If only my arm hadn’t…” 

“N-no, it’s fine! Um, I gotta go now!!” Naegi cut Ishimaru off and darted to his room. 

Akamatsu face-palmed. “I can’t believe I totally forgot as well! Let’s help him pack his stuff!”

“Yes!” Ishimaru replied, feeling rather guilty. He dashed out of the room after Naegi. 

“Oh dear,” was Komaeda’s only response to the chaos that had occured. Meanwhile, Naegi had run back to his room and was frantically changing to his uniform. 

“Naegi-kun, I’ll pack your bag! You should brush your teeth if you haven’t already!” Ishimaru called, and marched in on Naegi half-changed. But Naegi was too busy worrying to get embarrassed.

“Thank you so much, Ishimaru-kun!” Naegi gratefully dashed to the bathroom and washed his face as fast as he could. As soon as he got out of the bathroom, Ishimaru handed him his bag. Naegi had no time to check it, accepted it and headed out.

“Naegi-kun, take some biscuits…” Nanami handed over a few packets of wheat crackers, worried. Naegi nodded and shoved them into his pocket.

“Thank you!!”

“B-be careful in traffic, Naegi-kun!” Ishimaru called out as Naegi waved goodbye and ran for his life. 

And ran for his life he did. Well, he was already extremely late for his first class, but at least he could make it in time for his second, or third one, right…? 

When Naegi finally reached the nearest bus stop, he was exhausted. He had never run this much ever and had also totally forgotten how far away from civilisation his new home was…

He checked the bus app on his phone. The next bus would arrive in… twenty minutes. Just great!

Still, Naegi tried not to beat himself up over it. After all, if he didn’t stay, then Ishimaru might have suffered much longer! And helping a friend was more important than missing a few hours of class!

Feeling a bit more hopeful, Naegi waited impatiently for the bus, trying not to look at the time. Now, if he could just find a way to explain to the teacher what happened...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh I took so long to finish this chapter... but it’s finally done. I was getting worried I would not be able to put enough Naeishi into this fic, but it came out okay, I think. Anyway, I hope you like it!

**Author's Note:**

> Ooh, spooky. Poor Naegi. This was my first time writing Shingles and I really struggled... but he's okay... maybe. I really wanted to try writing something out of HPA's universe and it's quite fun so far.
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope I can finish the next chapter soon!
> 
> In the next chapter, Naegi meets the residents of the cemetery ;D


End file.
